KR-102962211-B1 - Thermal management system for electric vehicle

KR102962211B1KR 102962211 B1KR102962211 B1KR 102962211B1KR-102962211-B1

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a thermal management system for an electric vehicle that has a relatively simple circuit configuration, enables a reduction in the number of parts and cost reduction, and facilitates the arrangement, assembly, and layout setting of parts and wiring/piping. To this end, a thermal management system for an electric vehicle is disclosed, comprising: a heat pipe connected to contact power electronic components for vehicle operation; a heat sink connected to contact the other end of the heat pipe, through which heat from the power electronic components is transferred; a cooling fan for heat dissipation from the heat sink; a waste heat absorber for cooling power electronic components provided to transfer heat from the heat sink to cooling water passing through the interior while in contact with the heat sink; and a waste heat heater provided to enable heat exchange between the cooling water supplied from the waste heat absorber for cooling power electronic components and the heating air supplied to the vehicle interior.

Inventors

김경태
문재연

Assignees

현대자동차주식회사
기아 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20210430

Claims (8)

A heat pipe connected to contact power electronic components for vehicle operation; A heat sink connected so that the other end of the above heat pipe contacts it, through which heat from a power electronic component is transferred via the heat pipe; A cooling fan for heat dissipation of the above heat sink; A waste heat absorber for cooling power electronic components, configured to allow heat to be transferred from the heat sink to the cooling water passing through the interior while in contact with the heat sink; A waste heat heater configured to facilitate heat exchange between the cooling water supplied from the waste heat absorber for cooling the power electronic components and the heating air supplied to the vehicle interior; A radiator installed in a cooling water line in a water-cooled cooling system for battery cooling, configured to allow cooling water to pass through its interior; A battery cooling heat pipe, one side of which is connected to contact the radiator to transfer heat from the cooling water that has cooled the battery from the radiator; A battery cooling heat sink connected so that the other end of the battery cooling heat pipe contacts it, and heat of the coolant is transferred through the heat pipe; and A thermal management system for an electric vehicle characterized by including a cooling fan for heat dissipation of the above-mentioned battery cooling heat sink.
In claim 1, A cooling water line connected for cooling water circulation between the waste heat absorber and the waste heat heater for cooling the above power electronic components; A reservoir tank installed in the above cooling water line for storing cooling water; and A thermal management system for an electric vehicle characterized by further including a water pump that discharges coolant along the above-mentioned coolant line.
In claim 1, A thermal management system for an electric vehicle characterized by multiple power electronic components being connected to the heat sink via a heat pipe.
In claim 1, A thermal management system for an electric vehicle characterized by having a plurality of the above-mentioned heat sinks, wherein a designated power electronic component for each heat sink is connected via the above-mentioned heat pipe.
In claim 1, A thermal management system for an electric vehicle, characterized in that the above-mentioned power electronic components include at least one of a front wheel motor for driving the front wheel of the vehicle, a rear wheel motor for driving the rear wheel of the vehicle, a front wheel inverter connected to the front wheel motor, a rear wheel inverter connected to the rear wheel motor, and a charger and a DC-DC converter for charging the vehicle's battery.
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In claim 1, A thermal management system for an electric vehicle, characterized by further including a waste heat absorber for battery cooling, which is configured to allow heat to be transferred from the battery cooling heat sink to the cooling water passing through the interior while in contact with the battery cooling heat sink.
In claim 7, A cooling water line connected for cooling water circulation between the waste heat absorber for cooling the power electronic component, the waste heat absorber for cooling the battery, and the waste heat heater; A reservoir tank installed in the above cooling water line for storing cooling water; and A thermal management system for an electric vehicle characterized by further including a water pump that discharges coolant along the above-mentioned coolant line.

Description

Thermal management system for electric vehicles The present invention relates to a thermal management system for an electric vehicle. More specifically, the invention relates to a thermal management system for an electric vehicle that has a simple circuit configuration, enables a reduction in the number of parts and cost reduction, and facilitates the arrangement, assembly, and layout setting of parts, wiring, and piping. Generally, automobiles are equipped with an air conditioning system that heats or cools the interior. In a vehicle, the air conditioning system provides a comfortable interior environment for passengers by maintaining the vehicle's interior temperature at an optimal level at all times, regardless of changes in the outside temperature. An automotive air conditioning system includes an air conditioning system that circulates refrigerant. The air conditioning system includes, as its main components, a compressor that compresses and discharges refrigerant; a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor; an expansion valve that expands the refrigerant condensed and liquefied by the condenser; and an evaporator that cools the air blown into the vehicle cabin by utilizing the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant while evaporating the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve. In an air conditioning system, during summer cooling mode, high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor is condensed through the condenser, then circulated back to the compressor via the expansion valve and evaporator. At this stage, the expansion valve expands the condensed liquid refrigerant to a low temperature and low pressure, while the evaporator cools the air through heat exchange with the expanded refrigerant before discharging it into the vehicle's interior to enable indoor cooling. Meanwhile, with the recent increase in interest regarding energy efficiency and environmental pollution, the development of eco-friendly vehicles capable of effectively replacing internal combustion engine cars is underway. Eco-friendly vehicles can be classified into electric vehicles (FCEVs, BEVs) that operate using fuel cells or batteries as power sources, and hybrid vehicles (HEVs, PHEVs) that operate using engines and motors. These eco-friendly vehicles (xEVs) are electric vehicles in a broad sense, and they all share the common characteristic of being motor-driven vehicles or electrified vehicles that drive by powering a motor with electricity stored in a battery. Electric vehicles are equipped with a thermal management system to manage the overall thermal performance of the vehicle. A thermal management system can be defined as a system in a broad sense that includes the air conditioning and heating systems of the HVAC unit, a cooling system utilizing coolant or refrigerant for thermal management and cooling of the power system, and a heat pump system. Here, the cooling system includes components capable of managing the heat of the power system by circulating cooling water to cool or heat the power system. Additionally, the heat pump system can be used as an auxiliary heating device separate from the main heating device, an electric heater (e.g., PTC heater), and is configured to recover waste heat from power electronic (PE) components or batteries for use in heating. The previously disclosed cooling system comprises a reservoir tank for storing coolant, an electric water pump for pressurizing and circulating the coolant, a radiator and cooling fan for heat dissipation of the coolant, a chiller for cooling the coolant, a coolant heater for heating the coolant, an electric water pump for pressurizing the coolant, valves for controlling the flow of the coolant, and a cooling circuit comprising coolant lines connecting these components. In addition, the cooling system comprises a controller that controls the coolant temperature and coolant flow of the cooling circuit. The cooling system of an electric vehicle controls the temperature of power electronic (PE) components and the battery by circulating coolant along the coolant passages of the PE components for vehicle propulsion and the coolant passages of the battery that supplies operating power to these PE components. Additionally, the cooling system can be configured to cool the PE components and the battery separately or to cool them together as a single unit, as needed. To this end, the cooling system can control the direction of coolant flow by controlling the operation of a 3-way valve, which is a flow control valve within the cooling circuit. Recently, in electric vehicles, a parallel separate cooling system is being developed to increase the driving range of the vehicle and improve energy efficiency by placing two radiators at the front of the vehicle and configuring parallel cooling water lines that circulate through each radiator to cool power electronic components and batteries separately. Meanwhile,